Jose Ortiz may be graduating with multiple academic achievements, but his journey to success was not easy.
Before transferring to CPP in fall 2021, Ortiz spent many years after high school at Pasadena City College (PCC), where he earned three associate degrees in the business and economics fields as well as a certificate in software development. As a non-traditional student at CPP, he often battled imposter syndrome.
"I had a checkered scholastic background in the sense that I spent decades at PCC making minimal progress with school," Ortiz said. "My lower division transcripts are riddled with withdrawals and all kinds of failures. My biggest fear when I transferred to CPP were those chattering voices in my head doubting my ability to be a good student."
However, Ortiz knew he had potential and tapped into his determination and grit to help guide him on his pathway to a college degree.
When he started his academic journey at CPP, he reflected on how he could become a better student. Ortiz noted that he would always prioritize his job over schoolwork when he was working. Therefore, he decided to take a break, live off his savings and research stipends, and focus on his education.
"I had such a massive work experience, but such a tiny academic section, so I really wanted to achieve my goal of adding more achievements, skills, and research at CPP," Ortiz said.
When he crosses the stage to receive his bachelor's degree in computer information systems (CIS) at Commencement on May 23, it will not only be an important milestone for the Alhambra native, but also have a significant meaning for his family.
Marking Milestones
Ortiz will be the first in his family to graduate from college.
"Not having a degree felt like I wasn't living to my capacity, like I was taking the easy way out," Ortiz said. "But graduating this year proved to me that there's more to me than just holding a job. So, graduating for me is about being committed to myself and who I am."
His parents immigrated from Colombia to the United States for better job opportunities as well as a better life for him and his sister. His degree brings his parents peace, fulfillment, and a sense of accomplishment, he said.
"They worked really hard to get me and my sister an education, a home, and food," Ortiz said. This is a culmination of a lot of effort invested."
During his time at CPP, Ortiz has achieved many significant milestones such as being named a Mark Aldrich President's Scholar and producing multiple research projects through the Kellogg Honors College, as well as the Big Data and Cloud Computing Tech Apprenticeship Program.
Tech Savvy
After graduating, Ortiz will continue his academic pursuits at CPP as a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in business analytics. He also plans to teach classes in Python and programming at the community college level while earning his graduate degree and beyond. In the long-run, Ortiz hopes to work at a firm as a data analyst one day.
One of the reasons he decided to pursue a career in technology and business is to work for a finance or real estate company where he can help industry professionals who are not as familiar with technology.
His interest in a career in technology goes back to his teen years. Ortiz attended Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead where students are prepared for tech coursework in college.
Ortiz had originally wanted to study programming and app development but changed his mind after receiving some guidance.
"After speaking to a mentor at PCC, Professor James Mertz, he encouraged me to pursue business intelligence, since the skills you learn in that field are more elusive to acquire whereas for programming, you could learn that anywhere," Ortiz said.
He chose to make business intelligence his career emphasis because he was drawn to the data science component of it. His also had a deeply personal reason. After his mother was diagnosed with dementia around 2015, Ortiz became interested in how machine learning and big data can help cure diseases.
As a result, he became heavily involved with research opportunities at CPP. His research experience included building a machine learning based Tool for classifying 3D neural images and studying resistance to Alzheimer's disease in the hippocampal CA4 region of the brain.
Ortiz has presented his research at the CPP Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Conference and the College of Science Research Symposium. He also presented at other universities including Pepperdine University and University of Montana.
Glenn Kageyama, biology professor and faculty advisor for the Alzheimer's project Ortiz worked on with his peers, noted that although Ortiz is not a biology student, his background in computer information systems greatly benefitted their project.
Demented individuals with Alzheimer's disease neuropathy have been shown to suffer from severe synaptic and neuron loss. The research team's study was to determine if non-demented, cognitively intact individuals that express high levels of Alzheimer's neurotherapy also exhibit severe synaptic and neuronal loss.
Ortiz contributed to the project by assisting with simplifying his team's analysis of nerve cell counts in the hippocampus, which is important for learning, memory, and cognitive functions.
"What makes Jose an outstanding student is his enthusiasm for learning subjects outside of his comfort zone and his eagerness to share his knowledge in information science and thoughts with his coworkers in the lab," Kageyama said.
